Atlas Copco and Linde Gas work together to provide helium solutions

2012-06-26

GREENFIELD is one series of high pressure system product manufactured by Atlas Copco, boasting nearly a century of extensive experience in the field of high pressure technology. Atlas Copco owned advanced production lines of GREENFIELD in Switzerland, Brazil and the United States and have its business throughout 150 countries over the world. Thousands of GREENFIELD compressors help you succeed with the highest performance in each corner of the globe.

Liquid Helium Storage Tunk

As a market leader in high-pressure systems, GREENFIELD has a long-term good cooperation with the global well-known providers of industrial gases so as to perfect gas solutions. Linde Industrial Gases Group is one of the most important customers of Atlas Copco.

Linde Group is a globally-leading company of industrial gases and engineering business. Linde has approx 50,500 employees in over 100 countries. As one of the first batch international industrial gases company enter China since 1980s, Linde has close cooperation and grow up together with the customer from chemical, petre-chemical, metallurgy, manufacturing, electronic, food, pharmaceutical and etc industries.

Atlas Copco and Linde Industrial Gases Group boast mature and stable cooperation on a global scale, e.g. hundreds of GREENFIELD series of compressors are responsible for providing power for Linde gas supply facilities over the world. In China, there are nearly 10 GREENFIELD compressors provided for Linde. Most recently, at the end of 2011, Linde purchased two sets of GREENFIELD C5U helium compressors for its helium provision facilities in Pixian, Chengdu.

The project is to supply cooling helium for an international manufacturer of professional medical imaging technology products. The user mainly produces medical testing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system products. Unprecedented levels of clarity required for a detailed analysis on the inner functioning of the human body can be achieved by using Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), especially when scanning soft tissues such as brain or muscle. Compared to traditional X-rays, Patients required no exposure to radiation if the magnetic resonance imaging is used. However, NMR requires continuous supply of low-temperature products to cool the magnetic coil of the scanner. This makes the coil feature superconducting properties, and also makes the current smoothly flow through the coil, therefore, a high-intensity magnetic field can be generated.

Atlas Copco GreenfieldC5U Helium Compressor

Liquid helium is the only cooling media that can cool the magnetic coil to the ultra-low temperature, so as to achieve the superconductivity (Zero resistance). But the liquid helium pressure generated in the high pressure container can be up to 50-60 Psig, and can not be filled directly into the MRI device, which requires use of a professional helium compressor, that is, the liquid helium should be first pumped out and decompressed to the magnet tolerable 10 Psig below, and then filled into the MRI device. Meanwhile, the helium compressor is also required to exhaust the evaporated helium generated when producing the MRI device. This will be a great challenge for the compressor performance and stability. Therefore, Linde firm chooses the GREENFIELD helium compressor, the expert in this field.

GREENFIELD helium compressor manufactured by Atlas Copco is developed on the basis of the decades of experience in its high-pressure helium compressors and specifically designed for low-density gases. 5-level compressor featuring a low compression temperature adopts the gas-tight crankcase design to ensure that there is no gas loss or gas pollution by sending return air of the crankcase to the suction side. It is featured by high volume rate, low maintenance costs, use safety, and has been widely recognized throughout the world.

“Selection of Atlas Copco GREENFIELD compressors, not only lies in that Atlas Copco is a leader in today's high-pressure systems, but also lies in that the excellent performance, high reliability and durability of their products gave us greater confidence after Linde and Atlas Copco carried out the long-term worldwide cooperation.” The site director of Chengdu Branch of Linde Gases that is responsible for the project, Mr. Yang Jun said that, “The helium has the characteristic of very low compression specific heat, so the temperature of the helium can be increased to very high when compressing it; and requires to absolutely eliminate air mixing; meanwhile, the MRI device requires no downtime of the compressor due to very long pre-cooling time and high operating costs, which require a very high performance of the compressor. However, GREENFIELD helium compressor is designed specifically for the characteristics of helium conveying, high running stability and safety, which is the reliable guarantee of the whole liquid helium supply project! "

Compressor Room

2 sets of GREENFIELD C5U helium compressors purchased are respectively used for high purity and low purity helium conveyance. From the debugging starting in March 2012, it has been in stable operation for more than 100 hours. As the after-sales service manager of Atlas Copco Western, Mr. Zhang Daipin made a special trip to pay a return visit Linde base in Pixian to understand the trial run, he said: “Atlas Copco professional team adheres to customer-centric service concept, and to Safeguard that the product can stably and efficiently function by excellent regular or irregular on-site services. And, we will make the greatest efforts to the response time of having a timely supply and maintenance of spare parts according to no mutual backup of the two devices purchased by Linde to ensure the normal and orderly production of the customer.” Yang Jun, a director of Linde fully affirmed the services provided by Atlas Copco after-sales service team, and will continue to work with Atlas Copco 's after-sales service team after the end of the commissioning period.

As a pioneer in the industry, Atlas Copco GREENFIELD is also widely used in the purification and recovery of breathing air, hydrogen, nitrogen, methane, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, natural gas, nitrous oxide and other industrial gases other than helium. In addition to general industrial purpose, GREENFIELD can even provide a highly flexible high-pressure compressed air power source for marine exploration, military defense, etc. GREENFIELD covers ranging from a single compressor to a complete set of compression system. Atlas Copco has been committed to providing customers with more perfect overall solutions!

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Atlas Copco is an industrial group with world-leading positions in compressors, expanders and air treatment systems, construction and mining equipment, power tools and assembly systems. With innovative products and services, Atlas Copco delivers solutions for sustainable productivity. The company was founded in 1873, is based in Stockholm, Sweden, and has a global reach spanning more than 170 countries. In 2011, Atlas Copco had 37 500 employees and revenues of BSEK 81 (BEUR 9). Learn more at www.atlascopco.com.

Atlas Copco’s Compressor Technique business area provides industrial compressors, gas and process compressors and expanders, air and gas treatment equipment and air management systems. It has a global service network and offers specialty rental services. Compressor Technique innovates for sustainable productivity in the manufacturing, oil and gas, and process industries. Principal product development and manufacturing units are located in Belgium, Germany, the United States, China and India.